A man who claimed to have a bomb in a pickup truck near the U.S. Capitol was taken into custody by police on Thursday after a five-hour standoff that prompted an evacuation of nearby buildings and paralyzed a section of Washington for much of the day.
“He stepped out and they got him. We have one in custody,” a police officer told Reuters.
Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger told reporters that the man parked his vehicle on a sidewalk outside the U.S. Library of Congress at about 9:15 a.m. ET and told an officer who approached him that he had a bomb while holding what appeared to be a detonator.
Police did not know the man’s motive, he said.
Police blocked off roads surrounding the Capitol complex, as fire and rescue trucks headed to the scene. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had said earlier it was sending a bomb technician to support police.
The Capitol Police had asked anyone working in the Cannon congressional offices to leave and relocate to the neighboring Longworth building, while those in the Madison building were asked to bar themselves in their offices. The Jefferson building, part of the Library of Congress, was also evacuated. The House of Representatives and Senate are not currently in session.
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